Windstar Experimenting with (almost) All-Inclusive Pricing?

[Psoque]

So we were looking at some itineraries on an aggregate cruise booking site and it appears Windstar popped up in our searches.  When I went to the Windstar website, I see that they are offering their "all inclusive" package for "free" on many of the future bookings. If I understand correctly, this includes wifi and alcohol mainly, and this package is typically offered at $89/day as an add on if booked without this promotion.

Is it the case that Windstar, by offering this for "no added cost" to the custmers on future cruises, is experimenting with a more all-inclusive pricing model?

 

Also, is the current promotions for 2026 Europeran itineraries a good deal?  Has Windstar offered more impressive booking incentive in the (recent) past?

[minidonuts85]

They’ve offered the All In package in the past as a booking incentive and the booking window for this perk is for a limited time. Considering 2026, it’s an early booking incentive .

[new_cruiser]

They have a Price Assurance Policy that let's you re-price to the current fare if the price drops over 90 days before sailing. Generally, that means you lose any perks that went with the prior fare and get the ones that go with the new fare.

 

I've seen fares go up or go down as the cruise approaches. We are probably about 50/50 on cruises where it never dropped below our original fare and ones we re-fared under the price assurance program.

 

Currently, they have the all-in package included on a lot of cruises (some before a certain date and some far out in 2026).

 

We had a February 2025 cruise booked and used the policy to get ihe current offer. It truly was All-In for no added cost; our cost actually went down 5% because the fare didn't change but the current promotion includes a 10% Yacht Club discount instead of the usual 5%. Also, they let us keep the free hotel night that was part of our original promotion.

[Strenz]

I seriously hope WS never goes to All- Inclusive pricing. I am not a prude but  I hate  paying for other people's alcohol when my husband is a diabetic and drinks a beer or a drink maybe every other day at dinner. The rest is ice tea or water. Me, maybe a glass of red wine for  or a glass of Prosecco with dinner. We do not even drink soda. Our credit card gives us a bottle of French Champagne on our WS cruises and we have a glass at Sailaway and the rest for two dinners. I had cancer 20 years ago my doctor said 1-2 glass of red wine a week best if less,  use good judgment on travel.  We simply want to stay healthy for more WS cruises and we do not miss the alcohol. I think there are lots of people like us, not right that we should pay for others. That is why I hope WS continues to give passengers a choice All-Inclusive or not. Happy Sailing

[Host Jazzbeau]

One thing in favor of all-inclusive even for non-drinkers is that it changes the ambience on the ship.  On bottom-feeder cruise lines that would mean wall-to-wall drunks in passed out in the hallway.  But on upscale lines like Windstar, it means an easy conviviality around pre-dinner and post-dinner get-togethers.  And on a line like Windstar I don't think the cost to the company adds that much to your fare, because so much is already built in.

[oakridger]

The current All-Inclusive Upgrade also includes all gratuities and $200 OBC.

 

"All-Inclusive upgrade — with Wi-Fi, unlimited wine, beer and cocktails, and all gratuities — plus a $200 onboard credit per stateroom"

 

~Nancy

 

 

[new_cruiser]

3 hours ago, oakridger said:

The current All-Inclusive Upgrade also includes all gratuities and $200 OBC.

 

"All-Inclusive upgrade — with Wi-Fi, unlimited wine, beer and cocktails, and all gratuities — plus a $200 onboard credit per stateroom"

 

The OBC is a feature of a particular special, not of All-Inclusive.

 

The Early Booking Offer for 2026 includes complimentary All-in plus $200 OBC.

 

The Complimentary All-Inclusive offer on sailings through March 2025 booked before Sept 30 doesn't include OBC. Instead it has a 10% Yacht Club  discount instead of the usual 5%. On many Windstar cruises the extra 5% off would save more than $200 per cabin.

[Psoque]

What is a Yacht Club discount?

 

[HaveDogWillTravel2]

47 minutes ago, Psoque said:

What is a Yacht Club discount?

 

Yacht Club is the WS loyalty program.  You get 5% off starting with your second cruise. If you book onboard you get an additional 5% off. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On 9/4/2024 at 6:17 AM, Psoque said:

So we were looking at some itineraries on an aggregate cruise booking site and it appears Windstar popped up in our searches.  When I went to the Windstar website, I see that they are offering their "all inclusive" package for "free" on many of the future bookings. If I understand correctly, this includes wifi and alcohol mainly, and this package is typically offered at $89/day as an add on if booked without this promotion.

Is it the case that Windstar, by offering this for "no added cost" to the custmers on future cruises, is experimenting with a more all-inclusive pricing model?

 

Also, is the current promotions for 2026 Europeran itineraries a good deal?  Has Windstar offered more impressive booking incentive in the (recent) past?

I have been watching WS pricing fairly closely for the last year (at least on sailings I am interested in and/or have already booked). I have a Med sailing on Wind Spirit this October, a Montreal to NYC next fall and a Twice the Tahiti Spring of 2026 booked. I am going to book an Iceland circumnavigation, a repositioning thru Greenland for 2025 and a circumnavigation of Ireland in 2026 while we are on board this October. 
 

It has been my experience that WS is very good about refaring however it is up to me to find the sale/promotion and ask for it. For example my mid ship deck one cabin on Wind Spirit was booked without the All in Package December 2023.  It’s been refared 3 times. The first time it was a simple price reduction, second time it added All In for free, this last one resulted in $600 of OBC as they don’t give refunds after final payment.  
 

We are now paying $416 pp/day including All In. I consider anything between $400-$550 pp/day including All In a good value for the product, with the lower number associated with ocean views and the higher numbers associated with their French balconies (or more popular, in demand itineraries )  I am so happy with the motor yacht staterooms I don’t feel the need to book a suite. I’ll find out how I feel about the sailing ship cabins in a few weeks!
 

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

One thing in favor of all-inclusive even for non-drinkers is that it changes the ambience on the ship.  On bottom-feeder cruise lines that would mean wall-to-wall drunks in passed out in the hallway.  But on upscale lines like Windstar, it means an easy conviviality around pre-dinner and post-dinner get-togethers.  And on a line like Windstar I don't think the cost to the company adds that much to your fare, because so much is already built in.

In my very limited experience (one sailing Istanbul to Athens last fall) I also found the demographics of WS to be very different than our Princess, Cunard, Oceania and Celebrity sailings.  It is one of the reasons we are excited to keep booking and sailing WS. 

[new_cruiser]

On 9/4/2024 at 6:17 AM, Psoque said:

Also, is the current promotions for 2026 Europeran itineraries a good deal?  Has Windstar offered more impressive booking incentive in the (recent) past?

In most cases, the $200 OBC per cabin plus complimentary All-Inclusive is as good or better than past booking incentives.

 

Some past incentives have had a higher OBC amount for the premium suites but didn't include All-In. Depending on how valuable All-In is to the particular passenger and depending on length of cruise, the higher OBC might be a better deal for those who book the large suites. If you book don't book a premium suite, the current deal is best even if you don't care about WiFi and included alcohol since you get the OBC plus All-In covers daily gratuities ($16 per passenger per day).

 

Many Windstar cruise fares are higher than $2000 ppdo, so the extra 5% off plus complimentary All-In on the current kind-of-late booking deal is usually better than the $200 OBC for the Early Booking deal. But I haven't seen that offered before.

 

 

Edited September 5 by new_cruiser

[Misty Morning]

53 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

So we were looking at some itineraries on an aggregate cruise booking site and it appears Windstar popped up in our searches.  When I went to the Windstar website, I see that they are offering their "all inclusive" package for "free" on many of the future bookings. If I understand correctly, this includes wifi and alcohol mainly, and this package is typically offered at $89/day as an add on if booked without this promotion.

I have been watching Windstar prices for a long time and when choosing a cruise, if All-in pricing, I factor it out to get the cruise-only price which is really a better benchmark.  So I like to have the option of taking the package but it is becoming more and more prevalent.  For our 7-day cruise on the Wind Spirit in Apr/May (Mediterranean Island Mosaic) the cruise-only price was great ($257pp per night) so we took it.  Given we have free wifi because of our 4-star Yacht Club status, we then decided if we want to tack on a wine&beer drink package at 10% off (status again) plus tips for a bit cheaper @$75/pp day vs $89/pp/day.  Given that the itinerary was port intensive, we did not take it but probably should have in the end, just less hassle.  That being said if the all-inclusive price is too good to pass, then we take the offer.  For example, the Star Pride Dec 7th to 21st cruise from San Juan to Oranjestad is currently priced at $3,999 or $285pp/day all-inclusive.  If you take out the package price ($89/day), the cruise itself comes to $196pp/day.  There are good deals out there on both sides  

[HaveDogWillTravel]

@Misty Morningthose are some great prices. Unfortunately we can’t sail in those forward porthole cabins due to Adam’s sensitivity to the motion at the front of the ship. The mid ship cabins are a little more.  I saw that Dec Pride sailing as well but we’ve already got 27 days in the Caribbean booked for early 2025 so it just didn’t fit. 
 

I like to plan far in advance and I want to pick my cabin location. I’ve been happy with WS prices but I do always look for those bargains and try to fit them in when I can. 
 

We are doing that same itinerary, Mediterranean Island Mosaic. Did you like it?  It looks nice and we’ve never sailed the Mediterranean before. We paid $327 if I subtract the All In. Right now online my BX cabin is $386 pp/day without All In. So I’m feeling good about it. I’m looking forward to earning those perks you have!

[Misty Morning]

3 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

We are doing that same itinerary, Mediterranean Island Mosaic. Did you like it?  It looks nice and we’ve never sailed the Mediterranean before

We loved the itinerary.  Couldn't get into Calvi in Corsica so we went to Porto Cervo in Sardinia instead.  Wrote a full review below. 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=714968

 

We got upgraded to a AX (234 which was noisy when stabilizers were out, our friends had 219 which was much better). Lovely itinerary with small ports (Palma is bigger but all other ones are small).  The ship is in good condition although the drydock in November will spruce things up. 

[wrk2cruise]

On 9/4/2024 at 6:59 PM, new_cruiser said:

but the current promotion includes a 10% Yacht Club discount instead of the usual 5%.

 

@new_cruiser  Thanks for pointing this out.  My TA was in the process of making final payment today and thankfully needed the CVV code from me and I saw this in the meantime.   I booked in late June for Pride in December 2024.  I'm not sure if the All Inclusive promo included the 10% at the time as I don't remember that or reduced deposit.  Anyway I had TA call today and they put in a Price Protection form and gave TA a new rate (which was apparently wrong) as they called my TA back.  It appears they can't do math as they quoted the additional discount of $305 pp but then gave an overall price pp at about $1k less!  After over an hour on the phone they agreed to have supervisor provide written details tomorrow!  I believe the $305 is correct as it reflects the extra 5% and the $80 pp the taxes/fees have gone down since booking.

 

Anyway it appears I have to keep track of the details of the promo even if the name doesn't change.

 

But thanks to this thread I should be saving over $600 on this Xmas cruise.

[new_cruiser]

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

@new_cruiser  Thanks for pointing this out.  My TA was in the process of making final payment today and thankfully needed the CVV code from me and I saw this in the meantime.   I booked in late June for Pride in December 2024.  I'm not sure if the All Inclusive promo included the 10% at the time as I don't remember that or reduced deposit.  Anyway I had TA call today and they put in a Price Protection form and gave TA a new rate (which was apparently wrong) as they called my TA back.  It appears they can't do math as they quoted the additional discount of $305 pp but then gave an overall price pp at about $1k less!  After over an hour on the phone they agreed to have supervisor provide written details tomorrow!  I believe the $305 is correct as it reflects the extra 5% and the $80 pp the taxes/fees have gone down since booking.

 

Anyway it appears I have to keep track of the details of the promo even if the name doesn't change.

 

But thanks to this thread I should be saving over $600 on this Xmas cruise.

I don't think the offer changed from late June, but I might be wrong. We got a post card in early summer telling us about the promotion. It seems it always pays to keep an eye on how Windstar applies things as some things don't seem to be fully automatic.

 

I've done some solo trips and that pricing is even more opaque. When I'm traveling solo, I just check it to see that it isn't higher than what I expect and as long as that's true I'm fine. Their normal solo supplement is 75% but it seems that there is some part of the cruise fare that they don't apply it to because the invoice has always come out slightly lower than I expect. Until recently, the Reduced Solo Supplement page just gave the price for the lowest category room and didn't have solo supplement %. And since the price on that page was static and not linked to the current price, one couldn't even calculate what the supplement was supposed to be if the cruise was on sale. So I would just call my TA and get a quote. Recently, they added the % to the page so that will be easier to check. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

5 hours ago, Misty Morning said:

We loved the itinerary.  Couldn't get into Calvi in Corsica so we went to Porto Cervo in Sardinia instead.  Wrote a full review below. 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=714968

 

We got upgraded to a AX (234 which was noisy when stabilizers were out, our friends had 219 which was much better). Lovely itinerary with small ports (Palma is bigger but all other ones are small).  The ship is in good condition although the drydock in November will spruce things up. 

Thanks for the link to your review. And thanks for writing it too. I’d read that two of the sails were torn and out of commission so I’m wondering if that happened after you sailed. Or maybe they have been repaired?  
 

[CulverCityCruisers]

Nothing is ever "FREE"  they just add the $89 per day into the price.  

[new_cruiser]

2 hours ago, CulverCityCruisers said:

Nothing is ever "FREE"  they just add the $89 per day into the price.  

With the current special, they didn't. We switched our February 2025 cruise to the current special to add All-In and the base fare stayed the same. Our price went down slightly because special increased our 5% Yacht Club discount to 10%. We got All-In and a slightly lower price.

 

I wouldn't ever buy All-In at $89 pp per day. As 4-stars, we already get free WiFi. We are light drinkers paying $73 per day (89 - daily gratuity) to get free alcohol wouldn't make sense.

[Misty Morning]

13 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I’d read that two of the sails were torn and out of commission so I’m wondering if that happened after you sailed. Or maybe they have been repaired?  

The sails were fine on our cruise.  They must have had them fixed.

[wrk2cruise]

On 9/5/2024 at 10:40 PM, new_cruiser said:

don't think the offer changed from late June, but I might be wrong. We got a post card in early summer telling us about the promotion. It seems it always pays to keep an eye on how Windstar applies things as some things don't seem to be fully automatic.

 

Well I still don't understand Windstar math but the end result is I saved $737 by seeing the post about double Yacht Club discount.  Thanks.

[Psoque]

Is the double Yacht Club discount for 2025 itineraries?

[new_cruiser]

2 hours ago, Psoque said:

Is the double Yacht Club discount for 2025 itineraries?

 

Some 2025 itineraries: it applies to sailings through March 2025 if booked by Sept 30.

[Redtravel]

The yacht club discount is very much appreciated. 5% is good. 10% is better.  It”s a real perk.  It made the decision to book Windstar for our winter cruise.  We had considered other cruise lines that we enjoy. Thank you, Windstar. You made a great perk even greater.